The Ricky Rubio Foundation and the Barça Foundation, working together for the wellbeing of children and young people with cancer

The Ricky Rubio Foundation (TRRF) and the FC Barcelona Foundation have joined forces to support children and young people who are battling with cancer. It has been nearly a year since the two entities began collaborating to work together on two projects, called “I’m Ready” and “Vital-E”. These initiatives aim to improve the wellbeing and quality of life of children and young people currently enduring or having previously suffered from cancer, using sport and emotional support to enhance the human and friendly side of the care given during lengthy stays in hospital. 

“I’m Ready” is a virtual-reality project which aims to provide a better hospital experience for children needing to undergo chemotherapy treatment. The project has been developed by TRRF and Nixi For Children, in collaboration with the FC Barcelona Foundation, and consists of a game-based, educational kit which provides children with oncological diseases with necessary information about the chemotherapy procedure and its side effects, thus helping to reduce their levels of fear and anxiety. By means of a virtual-reality experience, which combines real 360-degree images with a 3D-animated character (Nixi) and a robot (Pix), the levels of stress frequently experienced in these circumstances by young children, who are often unsure about what is happening to them, can be reduced. The children also receive a Nixi soft toy, which explains through game play what treatment will be like, as well as an educational notebook. 

Thanks to the collaboration with the FC Barcelona Foundation, “I’m Ready” has been successfully implemented during an initial pilot phase at Sant Joan de Déu hospital, a world-leading centre for paediatric cancer treatment. Over the coming weeks, other hospitals that are leading the way in oncological care will receive more of these educational packs. The goal is to extend this initiative to hospitals which partner with the Barça Foundation in both Catalonia and other parts of the world. 

Physical exercise and emotional support 

The other project TRRF and the FC Barcelona Foundation are collaborating on is “Vital-E”. Its objective is to improve the quality of life of young people with cancer and help prepare them for getting back to normal life as quickly as possible. 
Up until a few years ago, doing sport was not recommended for those suffering from serious illnesses, such as cancer. Yet now, physical exercise and sport are not only no longer deemed not recommended for cancer sufferers, they are seen as key factors in patients’ recovery and improvements in their mental state, helping to reduce stress, anxiety and prevent depression in those battling this illness. 

The program combines supervised physical activity and personalised emotional support. This kind of intervention helps reinforce patients’ physical and mental wellbeing. Structured physical activity sessions are provided, tailored to each participant. In addition, there is psychological support from specialised professionals. 

Thanks to this project, improvements in patients’ overall physical condition have been achieved, increasing participants’ levels of vitality, promoting quicker recovery and motivating patients to get back to the lives they led before their diagnosis. 

The project has been made possible thanks to the collaboration of Kàlida, Onalabs Inno-Hub and the Barça Foundation, the main collaborator in this initiative. Kàlida is the organisation which drives the emotional-support group sessions, while the physical activity and sport sessions have been held in The Ricky Rubio Foundation’s facilities.